Yoan Moncada

It's hard to think of any scenario more unlikely than that "You could even see Moncada as a primary DH who spells your 3B and all three OF, and can play 2B in a pinch."

What I meant by that is closer to the typical "we use DH to half-rest a regular because we have one more quality bat than we can fit in the field" rotation, where Moncada is the guy who gets the most DH starts. That's admittedly unlikely, but I can imagine scenarios where it's the smartest thing to do.

Good points; the health and the need for him to get consistent reps at one position probably outweigh the fact that he might be the weakest defender of the candidates.

In this scenario, Hanley's probably the full-time DH anyway, and Panda's long gone. I'm thinking about where he goes, in the best-case scenario where Betts, Bradley, and Benintendi are the OF, he seems to be too good to play 1B, and Devers is ready and looks like the better defensive 3B. But they moved Youkilis from 3B to 1B even though they believed he was still a plus defender at 3B, and that worked out fine ... so maybe there's not even a potential dilemma, even though the idea of a guy with Moncada's speed ending up at 1B is kind of brain-bursting.

Obviously, there's a chance that one of Bradley, Benintendi, Moncada, or Devers will disappoint by then, but I actually think that's less likely than it might seem. Devers would seem to have the lowest floor.

You're making stuff up, Lavarnaway. Look at the videos, including the one of him running the bases. That is a 6'2" package of athleticism. The notion that he's "stocky" was pulled from your... own belief system. Watch a few NBA games sometime to get a feel for the amazing things people much larger than Moncada can do. I was always hoping that Karl Malone would try his hand at tight end (with the Patriots and that was BEFORE Gronkowski, of course):

If anything Moncada looks shorter to the ball there. Nice comparison.

Here they are side by side.  Great observation.

  

Yeah, I'm not saying he played poorly. From the reports I read he was doing exactly what you're saying, which was a continuation of what he'd done all year. My point was more that, statistically, he was just OK. I think he hit something like .271 with a high-300s OBP and one homer. Nothing that stood out in the AFL...while Shaw absolutely destroyed the ball. My comment was actually meant in the vein of what you said...get Moncada some AA-equivalent ABs in Arizona, ignore the stats but pay attention to the scouting, and hope it helps him take off next spring.

I like the smooth transition of moncada' back foot as he clears the zone with his hips. He makes it look effortless wheras trout is much more violent. Incredible athleticism there

I knew that Moncada's last 2 months were quite impressive, but I was even more impressed when I decided to extrapolate those figures over 6 full months. Certainly this is not a great way to figure future production, but what IF he is the type of player we have seen in Greenville in July and August?

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB K

In July....25 95 23 30 6 1 4 13 13 1 14 23 .316 .419 .526 .945
In Aug....16 64 17 24 7 0 3 10 21 3 11 13 .375 .467 .625 1.092


41 159 40 54 13 1 7 23 34 4 25 36 340 Last 2 Months
123 477 120 162 39 3 21 69 102 12 75 108 .340 Extrapolate Over a 6 Month Season

He is at 63 extra base hits in only 123 games with 120 runs scored and 102 stolen bases.
Can't wait to see what he does next season with a year behind him and full off-season to make some adjustments.

Is there a chance he skips straight to AA next season? I think that even with the playoff thing, it was a mistake leaving him in Greenville once he figured it all out. Or maybe he does more like Pedroia did in '04 and get 50 ab's in Salem to prove he has consolidated his gains (and to miss the coldest weather) before heading north.

EDIT: very different situations, as Petey was coming off of a college year, and A+ vs A. Still think that's a possibility. Perhaps Ellsbury skipping A+ altogether is a better blueprint. Guess we won't really know till ST. Travis Shaw basically skipped Greenville, as will Benintendi; not quite the same.

The question with Moncada is whether the first month of his season was because of his adjustment period to playing baseball again, or was it just a cold stretch or a normal adjustment to better pitching? If it's the former, we can exclude it to a certain extent, meaning that he's had an astonishing season that may even be underrated by how good it's been. If it's just a normal cold stretch or normal adjustment period that any minor leaguer goes through, then we are cherry-picking by excluding it. There are very strong reasons to believe in the former explanation, but we just don't know.

That swing, though ... mercy. It's so quiet and quick. His head moves in a short, straight line toward the ball, then just stops and remains totally still. His whole body then rotates along a single axis and stays straight. And he hits the ball very hard from that quiet swing. He looks like an offensive force.

Has Moncada gotten more lean since we signed him? He looks leaner in the recent videos.

I don't think the Sox will be inclined to move him through the minors quickly. Considering how much they signed him, for why not make sure he is in his prime when he makes the majors?

I'm not saying they will park him in the minors for years but I don't see why they would hurry him. The fact that he is still in Greenville seems to confirm that.